Vacation Friends’ Yvonne Orji Talks Sequel Ideas, Chemistry with Lil Rel, and More

Vacation Friends is stirring up laughs on Hulu now, and one of the film’s standout elements is the chemistry between the cast. That especially goes for Yvonne Orji’s Emily and Lil Rel Howery’s Marcus, and it’s their relationship that acts as the foundation for all the chaos that follows. In fact, if not for Emily half the movie doesn’t even happen, since she is one of the main reasons Marcus continues to expand his horizons throughout the film. ComicBook.com had the chance to speak to Orji all about the new film, as well as what it was like working with such an entertaining cast, how the film embraced tension and suspense, and what she would want to see in a possible sequel.

First though we had to talk about working with Howery and bringing the couple of Marcus and Emily to life, and their real-world friendship is what makes things feel so real between them on screen.

“Oh, yeah. Well, I’ve worked with Rel before, and we did a small stint on Insecure, and then we’ve been in the stand-up comedy world together, so we have our own kind of chemistry. But it’s always fun playing with your friends,” Orji said. “You get to discover new things. And I think they were a good balance for each other. Marcus is little hot off the rails, and he’s trying to hold it all together. And Emily’s kind of just like, Woosah is going to be fine. We don’t have to trip. I think they were a good balance for each other.”

Emily is the driving force for pushing Marcus out of his comfort zone, even if sometimes it doesn’t go the way she expected. “She’s trying to be optimistic and trying to actually get Marcus out of his shell a little bit. So she’s like, I mean, how much could this hurt? how much could this really, really hurt? And it turns out it hurts a little bit,” Orji said. “And then they realized actually they were kind of good for us and we do kind of like them. Maybe we’re the jerks. It’s like did we overreact? I mean, it was warranted, but did we go too far? And that’s kind of what you’re watching towards the end of the movie.”

Part of what keeps viewers on their toes is the film’s toying with your expectations and tension. At several points, it feels like the film is going to down a dark path before swerving at the last second, and even some of the other core relationships don’t play out as you expect.

“Yeah. It veers towards like, uh-oh, this is when the black people die. And it’s like, oh no, it’s not. That’s what we do with people in real life. We try to put them in boxes. And the reality is you can’t put any of these folks in boxes and nothing is ever as it seems, even with Emily’s father,” Orji said. “It’s like, she discovers new things about him and his relationship with her grandfather. And so, it’s like, well, is that why you’re treating Marcus like a jerk? It’s just kind of like, when will the pendulum shift to everyone kind of giving everyone a chance?”

So, if we get a sequel, what would she want that to look like for Emily? “I don’t know what the sequel looks like, but I would be interested in Emily and Marcus becoming the crazy vacation friends to another unsuspecting couple,” Orji said. “It’s kind of like a pay it forward and just like, my how the mighty have fallen, eh?”

Sign us up for that ASAP!

What did you think of Vacation Friends? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things Vacation Friends with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!